7am on a Sunday!
by Abbeldy
Summary: Emily and Derek are really good friends. Will the case in New Jersey change that?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer – I own nothing.**

**A/N – I'm not American, so there will be factual errors in this fic. Please be forgiving. Thanks!**

There were times when Emily Prentiss just wanted to hang up on the media liaison. It was 7am. On a Sunday. It was bad enough that the perky blonde was in the office working, but did she have to find a case at 7am? They were just back from a grueling case in Miami at 11pm last night. She had gone to sleep 2am. Five hours of sleep was just not done.

She got out of bed and went to the loo to brush her teeth and have a quick shower. A look in the mirror told her she looked worse than she felt, which was not done. Since she had no clue where they were off to, she packed a shirt and wore her favourite purple polo-neck sweater and pulled on her jacket. She looked passably presentable. She sighed as she made her way to her car lugging her go bag.

She made a frustrated noise when her car refused to start. She peered into the gas meter which blinked red. She almost cursed and pulled out her phone and dialed quickly.

"Morgan! Are you on your way already?" Emily asked, crossing the fingers on her left hand.

"Oh brilliant! Can you please pick me up? My car has no gas. Not even enough to go to the station and I refuse to push the car in heels." Emily explained, making a joke in the end. She knew it was lame, but she always had this urge to make him laugh, even if it was at her, when she spoke to him.

She hung up and crawled out of her car and made her way to the street from the basement of the Apartment building. It was actually quite warm, even though it was only May. She figured the polo-neck and the jacket may have something to do with it. Her face broke into a grin when she saw Morgan pull up beside her, looking quite good in his studly sunglasses. He was the only one who could pull them off.

"Good Morning! Isn't it a bit warm?" Morgan asked, snickering as he took in what his friend was wearing.

Emily punched him lightly on the arm and buckled in. "It's cold on the plane." She said and put on her own sunglasses.

The ride to the office was pleasant, neither of them feeling the need to make conversation. It gave Emily the time to fully wake up and be ready to function. Derek Morgan was the best looking FBI agent she had ever seen. He belonged on TV and in magazines, with his smile, his easy charm and definitely his body. For a very long while, she thought that Morgan and the technical analyst, Penelope Garcia had something going on, until she had introduced Emily to her boyfriend, Kevin, who reminded her of Xander on Buffy. Emily grinned at the thought. She must share this observation with Penelope.

"Why the smile?" Derek asked the pretty agent sitting next to him.

'Oh. Don't you think that Kevin looks like Xander?" Emily asked, turning to look at Derek.

"Who?" Derek asked her, frowning in confusion.

"Derek! Kevin, Penelope's boyfriend!" Emily said, a little shocked that he didn't remember him.

"No not him Emily! I know Kevin! The other dude." Derek said.

"Oh, Xander. He's from Buffy… Buffy, the vampire slayer?" Emily explained as Derek's frown deepened.

"You watch that stuff? Emily Prentiss. Who would have thought you would watch a tiny teenager kick ass." Derek said, smirking.

"I hope you realise that by saying "tiny teenager" you've just proven that you watch it too." Emily said, looking smug.

"I watched one episode. I just know that girl. You watch it like you're a fan." Derek said, turning into the parking lot.

"Whatever. You watched it." Emily said, unbuckling her seatbelt. She got out of the car, picked up her go bag that she had stashed in the trunk and headed to the elevators grinning at Derek.

Spencer Reid thrust his bag as the elevator doors closed and got in.

"Hey Reid" Emily said, smiling at the young man.

"Reid my man! What's up?" Morgan said exuberantly and put an arm around the smaller man, making him very uncomfortable.

"Um, nothing. Did… did you come together?" Reid said, trying to get away from Derek, without insulting the bigger man. Emily came to Reid's rescue when she jabbed Derek in the side telling him to pick on people his own size.

The elevator doors opened and Reid quickly escaped to his desk.

"My own size huh? You're about my size wouldn't you say?" He said, wagging his eyebrows at Emily.

"You're such a clown!" Emily said, ducking and dumping her stuff at her desk, just as JJ asked them to assemble in the conference room.

*****

"This is from Basking Ridge in New Jersey. Each of the victims is between 30 and 40, but that is where the similarity ends. They are both men and women of different races. The population is mostly Asian and White. It's an up-scale town, mostly people who work on Wall Street." Jennifer Jereau or JJ said, looking at the team.

"How many victims?" David Rossi, a senior profiler, asked.

"So far, 7. The reason the NJPD is convinced that it's the same killer is that he carves the victim's initials on their foreheads. The MO is different for each kill." JJ explained.

"Is it post mortem? The initial carving?" Reid, the resident genius, asked.

"Um, I'm not sure. But it's carved so that it's etched into the bone. It's definitely not superficial." JJ said and began gathering the files.

"We'll know more when we get there. Take off in two hours. See you on the plane." Aaron Hotchner, the team leader, said.

"Wow. That's bizarre. Why their initials?" Derek asked, not addressing it to anyone.

"I haven't heard of any ritual that does this. I'll research some more." Reid said, hurrying to his desk.

Emily looked at JJ and gave her a small smile. "How's Henry?" she asked.

"He's good. He's become so big! He's walking now." JJ answered, a proud smile on her face.

"That's great JJ. Maybe we can hang out after we're back?" Emily asked JJ.

"Absolutely. Should be fun. Anyway, I'll see you on the plane?" JJ said and went to her office leaving Emily and Derek alone.

"You want to hang out with JJ?" Derek asked Emily. The whole interaction had been awkward.

"I don't socialise with anyone! I just feel… guilty. I don't know why!" Emily said, frowning as she realised this.

"We hang out!!! I cannot imagine another person I'd rather watch football with!" Derek said giving his friend a one arm hug.

Emily felt instantly better. A hug from a good friend was just what she needed. She's been feeling blue lately and only Derek seemed to be able to cheer her up! She was glad he was her friend. She was glad Reid was her friend too as she crept up behind him and scaring him. He shrieked like a girl. All high pitched and squeaky! She loved it!

**A/N – I wrote this chapter with Derek and Emily friendship. I will see where it goes and probably make them a pair! Please let me know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer – I own nothing.**

**A/N – Thanks for the reviews and the story alerts!!! Make me very happy when I see the mails in my inbox!! Hope you like this chapter!**

The plane ride was relatively short and was spent listening to music, reading books and looking outside the window. Once the team landed in Newark, they got into the black SUVs and headed over to Basking Ridge. You could see why New Jersey was called the Garden state once you got off the highways. The entire place was green with patches of forest and signs telling you to watch out for deer crossing. Emily smiled. She liked this kind of scenery. She felt bad that such a peaceful place was going through something quite gruesome. She wrinkled her nose in distaste.

"Something wrong Emily?" Reid asked her as he watched her smile and then express disgust.

"Oh, no. I was just think how awful it is for such a pretty place to go through something like this." Emily said, voicing her exact thoughts, which was rare for her. Reid just nodded and went back to staring out the window. If she had to pick, she felt most comfortable with Reid. He was as bad as she was socially and she didn't feel the need to be anyone but herself around him.

Derek Morgan was a different issue. She loved hanging out with him and they always had fun together, but she felt a need for him to have fun and not just her. She always ended up cracking jokes, making an effort she wouldn't usually make. She guessed it was what people did with their best friends. She didn't really have any so she had nothing to compare it to.

Hotch and JJ sat in the front. Hotch looking grim as usual. Did that man never smile? Emily couldn't figure it out. It was awkward around JJ after the "hang-out" offer. Yeesh! She couldn't believe she'd done that! They finally reached the station and they all got out.

*****

They had all gathered in the conference room with the Police Chief. He was a tall man going by the name Kenny. It was how he introduced himself.

"There have been seven cases so far. The people are becoming concerned and they have every right to be. We find the bodies in people's backyards. The victim's own backyards. It's awful because it's usually a family member finding the victims. They are usually killed coming home from work, but the last two victims were found on weekends. And the coroner said that they had been killed on the same day they were found." Kenny explained to the focused team in front of him. He was glad they had accepted his invitation. "We've increased surveillance, but we don't know when the unsub will strike or where."

"Reid? You and Rossi head over to the coroner and see what you can learn. Prentiss? You and Morgan visit the victims' families and see what you can find out about the time of the dumping and when and how they found the bodies. JJ, start the works for a press conference. Chief, if you and I can go to the latest victim's house?" Hotch asked Kenny.

"Sure." Said Kenny and with that, the team dispersed. Reid and Rossi got in first and headed out, after which the cruiser with Hotch and Kenny pulled out and Prentiss and Morgan were the last to leave. It always gave Emily a thrill when they all headed out together. It was like they were on the trail and the unsub would soon be caught.

******

Derek knocked on the first door in Liberty Ridge. The door was opened by a teenage boy who let them in after they flashed their badges.

"Mooom? The FBI is here." He yelled in no particular direction and disappeared behind a door.

A woman who was in her early forties came and introduced herself as Mary Green, wife of Brian Green, the unsub's first victim.

"Hi Mrs. Green. I'm Agent Prentiss and this is Agent Morgan. Would it be okay if we ask you a few questions?" Emily asked Mary gently.

"Sure. Please take a seat." She said gesturing to a couch and chairs. "Can I get you anything?"

"Not thank you. Mrs. Green, when did you find.." Derek asked her.

"Call me Mary. I found my husband at bout 5pm. My son was home, in the basement, playing on his X-box with his friends and I had gone out grocery shopping. I wanted to make it back before my husband got home." Mary said, trying hard not to cry.

"What time would your husband come home every day?" Emily asked her, reaching out to hold her hand in support.

"Um, at about 5. Yeah. He was usually home by then." Mary said, nodding.

"Okay. So did you go out to the back yard? That is where you found your husband right?" Derek asked Mary.

"Yes. I didn't see his car in the driveway so I put the groceries on the kitchen table and went out the back to turn the sprinklers on. Usually Brian does it, but I just.. I don't know why I went." Mary said, shuddering slightly at the memory.

"Then what happened?" Emily prompted gently.

"I saw him. He was lying on the grass. His face had blood all over it and his chest had blood on it." Mary said, breaking down.

"Because of the gunshot and the carving." Emily told Derek softly.

"Ma'am, I am so sorry to ask you this, but did you see anything before you went to the grocery store?" Derek asked.

"I don't know. I've been asking myself that for a long time now. I cannot remember. I just can't." Mary said, getting hysterical.

"Ma'am, Mary. It's okay. It's okay if you can't remember. We would like to talk to your son if that's okay. May we?" Emily said, rubbing Mary's forearm to calm the panicked woman down.

"Uh. Yeah. The police already took his statement, but I'll call him." Mary said. "Jason? Jason honey? The FBI would like to talk to you. " Mary called out. She walked up to the room and opened the door. There was no one there. "He must have gone out the window again. I'm sorry. I'll call you when he comes back. I don't know how to control him anymore. I don't know what to say." Mary said resignedly.

"Thanks Mary. Do give us a call when and if Jason would like to talk to us." Emily said, handing over her card.

******

When Derek and Emily got back to the station, it was 9pm. They had spoken to 6 families and were thoroughly saddened and disturbed. The bodies had all been dumped when there was someone was in the house, but no one had heard anything!

They dup relayed their findings to the rest of the team and the Chief. Hotch asked the team to call it a night but to be ready for a 6am start tomorrow. The unsub was striking every two days, and tomorrow was his next kill.

******

Derek sat at the bar and downed a glass of amber liquid when he looked up to see Emily join him. She sat next to him, not saying a word and ordered tequila shot. He gave her a small smile as the bartender refilled his glass and handed Emily her shot.

"Here's to getting out of here with our sanity intact." Emily toasted and downed her shot. She asked for another.

"Do you mean New Jersey or this bar?" Derek asked her as he watched her down the second shot.

"Haha. Shut up Derek. I need to get the memory of the 10 year old telling me how she found her brother on the lawn out." Emily said, asking for a third shot.

"Okay. There are other ways of doing that besides destroying your liver." Derek said, taking the shot glass away from her.

"Hey! That was mine! Gimme!" Emily exclaimed, already tipsy and leaned over Derek to get her shot from his hands.

"No. Emily! You are not going to wake up tomorrow with a hangover." Derek said, sliding her shot across the bar.

"Fine. But how am I supposed to forget? How do you deal with it Derek?" Emily asked looking at him intensely.

"Like this." Derek said and leaned. He touched his lips to hers tentatively. She put her and on his head and held him in place as she deepened the kiss. They kissed for who knows how long, before breaking for air.

"Oh. It's an effective method." Emily said, nodding.

"It was never effective before." Derek said, looking at Emily seriously. Suddenly she burst out giggling, the tequila coming into effect.

"Dance with me Derek!" She said, pulling him onto the dance floor. She was so carefree when she was tipsy. He got off the stool and pulled her close as they swayed slowly to an upbeat tune. It only seemed fitting.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer – I own nothing.**

**A/N – Thanks for the reviews and for adding the story alerts and for adding this story to your favourites! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

Emily Prentiss never got drunk. She had never had a hangover. As the daughter of a public figure, she had an image to maintain and it wasn't of the partying variety. Waking up at 6am that morning, feeling like she was going to be sick was not fun. She sat up and whimpered, clutching her head to keep it still. Oh God! This is why people said don't drink! This is why she had counted herself as lucky that she had never experienced this. She had no clue how to deal with something like this. In the movies, the people took aspirin, drank coffee and wore sun glasses. In real life? Did that work?

She groped around for her phone and dialed a number. She held it to her ear, wincing as both the phone and her head rang.

"JJ. Hi, it's Emily." She said, her voice sounding hoarse. She was never hoarse when she woke up. She had the perfect morning voice.

"_Hey Emily! Is everything alright? You sound ill!" JJ said, concerned. She had never heard the agent like this._

"Um, yeah. I'm sick. Can you please, please come over? And not tell anyone? And bring aspirin?" Emily asked, begging JJ to hurry.

*****

Emily had managed to get to the bathroom, empty the last bits of her stomach out, wash her face and brush her teeth. Her eyes weren't bloodshot, but they were tinged with red. She looked and felt a little better when JJ knocked on her door. She walked slowly and opened it, stepping aside to let the blonde in.

"Did anyone see you?" Emily asked, worried.

"No. No one saw me. Emily, were you drinking last night?" JJ asked, amused.

"Yeah. I cannot believe that I did that. But after hearing all those people... I never drink JJ. I'm always careful. I don't know what happened!" Emily said, appalled at her own behaviour.

"It happens to the best of us. I ordered us some toast and coffee. You should eat and drink that before you take the aspirin. Here, drink some water. It's important to keep yourself hydrated." JJ said, pouring Emily a glass of water.

"Thanks. I read that somewhere. About drinking water." Emily said, taking the glass and gulping the water.

"Slowly! Otherwise you'll throw it all back up! So. The mighty Emily Prentiss is human. She gets hangovers." JJ said, grinning.

"Not funny JJ." Emily said, scowling at JJ.

"Were you alone?" JJ asked, a smile still on her face. She didn't think the prim and proper Emily would ever be in the situation she was now.

"Um... no." Emily said, her voice muffled by the glass of water she was hiding behind.

"Oh. Who else was there?" JJ said, not hiding her curiosity.

"Morgan. Morgan was there." Emily said, putting her empty glass down, but not looking at JJ.

"Oh. Interesting. Was he as drunk as you were?" JJ asked, making notes in her head for Garcia. She may not be a profiler, but she could tell that something had happened.

"No. He was... He wasn't drunk." Emily said, looking at JJ finally.

"So he has the juicy stories that you would have talked about huh?" JJ said, smirking.

"JJ! No. I didn't say anything to him. Or anyone. So no stories." Emily said, protesting a little too much.

There was a knock on the door, which was their coffee and toast. JJ poured each of them a mug and buttered the toast. She handed the plate and mug to Emily and they sat at the little table by the window.

"You _said_ nothing. Did you _do_ something?" JJ asked, just stopping herself from rubbing her hands in glee. She and Garcia had spent many an evening discussing how perfect Morgan and Prentiss would be.

"Oh God! I'm beginning to regret calling you!" Emily said, taking a big bite of her toast so that she won't have to reply to that question.

There was another knock on the door. Emily shrugged her shoulders to tell JJ that she didn't know who it was. JJ went to answer the door, while Emily, who was feeling better, craned her neck to see who it was.

"Morgan! Hello! Come on in! Emily and I were just finishing breakfast. I have to go to get ready. Maybe you can give her company!" JJ said, patting him on the shoulder, which earned her a very puzzled look from Derek. She turned, smiled and nodded to Emily and disappeared to make a very important call to Garcia.

"Hey! What was that all about?" Derek asked Emily, as he walked over and sat opposite her.

"Um, I have no idea. I called her to see if she had some aspirin. You shouldn't have let me drink that much!" She said, looking accusingly at Derek.

"I shouldn't have let you drink? Emily, you threw a mini tantrum when I wouldn't give you your drink!" Derek reminded Emily.

"I know. I just feel like I need to blame someone. It makes me feel better!" She said, grinning at Derek. He hadn't said anything about the kiss. She hoped he would let it slide and that it was forgotten. She got up from the table and went to the closet. She took out the clothes she was going to wear that day.

"Fine. You can put the blame on me. I egged you on." Derek said. He was right behind her. When she turned, her body brushed his and it was like it came alive. Her nerves tingled. "You might as well put the blame on me for this also" he said, putting his arms around her, pulling her close and kissing her.

She returned the kiss and pushed herself against him. They broke apart gasping for air.

"That I won't blame you for." Emily said, looking up shyly at him. She finally got it. Why she was so on edge when he was around, why he was the one person she trusted, but was never a hundred percent relaxed around. She liked him! Of course!

Derek grinned at the beautiful woman standing in front of him, holding her underwear. He didn't think she had realised it and wanted to see her blush so he said "Nice panties. Never figured you were into lace."

"What? Oh. Shit!" Emily said, turning crimson as she threw them into the closet and shut the door. She looked down and not at Derek.

"Haha! You are so cute when you blush!" Derek said, laughing.

Emily punched Derek in the stomach and he almost doubled over.

"Ow! Girl, you punch hard!" Derek said, stepping away from Emily, who was grinning.

"Well, that will teach you not to laugh at me when I have a headache which is all your fault." Emily said, still grinning at him. "Now get out. I need to get dressed and so do you. And stay away from JJ." She said.

"JJ? Why?" Derek asked, coming forward for a last kiss. Not that it had started, he couldn't get enough. He wondered how he would last.

Emily kissed Derek and said "Just stay away. I'll explain it to you later, once I understand better. And if you cannot answer when Garcia calls, when it's not related to the case, that would be good too."

"Okay. Whatever you say. I'm scared of your punches!" he said grinning. He let himself out, to find JJ looking at him.

"Hey JJ." He said, thinking that it would be wise to follow Emily's instructions. JJ was smiling at him with barely contained glee. Frankly it freaked him out. He had never seen the liaison look like that. A mad woman.

******

The team assembled downstairs. With the help of eye drops, Emily's eyes were clear and she smiled Reid as she came in.

"Hey! I found something you may be interested in." Reid said to Emily.

"Oh! What did you find?" Emily asked, curious.

"Later." Reid said, as Hotch and Morgan came in.

"There has been no development. Today is the day that another victim is scheduled to be found. Patrols have increased. JJ, the press conference is today at 10 right?" Hotch asked JJ, who nodded, double checking her folders.

"Ok, so the team splits up again. Reid, you go with Rossi again and see what developments we have with the coroner. Prentiss, you interview the Green boy. See if he remembers anything at all. Morgan, I want you to come with Kenny and me to DCF. Garcia discovered that all his victims had either been foster children or people who were registered as foster parents." Hotch said, giving orders to his team.

Derek smiled at Emily a little sadly to show that he was disappointed that they wouldn't be working together. Emily smiled back. She looked for Reid who caught her eye and motioned her aside.

"What was it you wanted to tell me?" Emily asked the young genius.

"Actually, it was about this. I suspected that it was to do with foster families and children. I wanted to let you know, because I know you are a registered foster parent. Be careful." Reid said, looking carefully at Emily. He was nervous because he didn't know if it was okay with her that he knew.

"Thanks Reid. May I ask how you know?" Emily asked, swallowing a flash of anger. She was an intensely private person who disliked anything about herself being known. Especially information she didn't provide.

Reid breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't angry. "Well, I looked at all the foster families registered in New Jersey. Then narrowed it down to Basking Ridge. Then I did a search to see if anyone from the team was registered. And you and Garcia are registered." Reid said.

"Okay. I'd like you to keep this information to yourself if you don't mind." Emily requested Reid.

"Of course. I haven't told anyone. You can trust me Emily." Reid said earnestly.

"I know. Thanks for the heads up anyway Reid!" Emily said, impulsively squeezing his forearm as a show of trust and friendship. Reid just smiled shyly and went to join Rossi.

Derek, after watching the entire exchange, walked up to Emily, after looking at Hotch who was talking to JJ. "Should I be jealous?" He asked Emily.

"Most definitely. My passion for Reid.. Oh I can't. He was just giving me a heads-up about something." Emily told Derek.

"About what?" Derek asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Later. Hotch is watching. You better go." Emily said, backing up from Derek.

"Be careful" Derek mouthed to Emily.

The team got into their respective SUVs and headed to the various places.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer – I own nothing.**

**A/N: Okay. Who here is PSYCHED that the CM crew is on twitter??? Whoopteedoo! I'm sooooo happy Paget is twittering! I hope Shemar starts sooooooooon and we have some fun interaction! I loved that they all went crazy uploading Shemar budday pics! Yay! Anyway this chapter is dedicated to him! Happy 40NHOT Shemar!**

Emily walked up the driveway up to the Green residence. She knocked and waited for a response. She looked at her shoes, grimacing when she saw that they were scuffed. She knocked again, getting a little impatient. She went around, to see through a window. She saw Mary walking up to the door and she went back to the door.

"Oh! Agent Prentiss. Hello." Mary said, looking slightly baffled.

"Hello Mary. I know I said that I would call before coming, but I really need to talk to Brian. He's the last of the people we need to interview." Emily explained, apologetically.

"He's sleeping." Mary said.

"Okay, can you wake him up? Because it's very important that I talk to him." Emily said, growing impatient. This is why she liked to have someone with her, preferably Derek. She needed a calming presence.

"Uh. Okay. He's going to be in a bad mood." Mary said, hesitantly.

Emily reached out and stopped Mary from turning away. "Mary, are you scared of Brian?" Emily asked, feeling like she hit the nail on the head.

"What? Of course not. He's my son. Why would I be afraid?" Mary said, sounding scared and was ineffective in convincing Emily.

"Okay. We have safe houses Mary. You can always use them. And we can put Brian in another house." Emily said, unsure of how to handle this situation. "I'll tell you what, I'll wake him up okay?" she said, and strode into Brian's room with Mary following closely behind.

She approached Brian's sleeping form and bent over to shake him gently, while calling out his name and identifying herself. Suddenly, Brian woke up, back handed Emily, which sent her sprawling as she wasn't prepared and he pushed his mother out of the way as he ran for the door. Emily got up and chased him down the street, but he outran her. Cursing, she pulled out her phone and dialed her boss's number.

"Hotch! Brian Green is a suspect. He back handed me and got away. I didn't even get a chance to talk to him." Emily said into the phone, very, very angrily.

"_Are you hurt?_" Hotch asked. Derek could be overheard asking who Hotch was talking to.

"No I'm fine. Just bruised. Wanted you to know, that's all. I'm bringing Mary Green to the station now." Emily said, looking back to make sure Mary was around.

"_Alright. We'll see you at the station. Prentiss. Be careful._" Hotch said and hung up.

*******

"Prentiss? What happened to E.. Prentiss?" Derek asked, trying to mask his overwhelming fear.

"Nothing. She got back handed by that Green kid and he got away. She's bringing the mother in now." Hotch said, slightly irritated with Morgan. He was acting so possessive about Prentiss.

"Ok. Are we going to the station?" Morgan asked Hotch looking at him expectantly.

"No. We aren't. We've got work to do here Morgan. Prentiss can handle the interview." Hotch said, looking at the other Agent closely.

Morgan felt the scrutiny and only shrugged. He was seething inside, but he knew he couldn't openly confront Hotch. They finished going through the various files at DCF in silence.

*******

Rossi and Reid came back to the station an hour later to find Prentiss looking like she had grown an extra head. The back hand was so bad that her face had swollen to twice its size.

"It's not my day today." Prentiss said, trying to add some humour to the situation.

"Oh my God! What happened?" Rossi asked her, peering at her face.

"The Green kid back handed me." Prentiss answered.

"With what? A baseball bat? Prentiss, I think your cheekbone may be cracked." Rossi said, stepping back.

"No. My molar is gone though. He freaking knocked it out." Prentiss said, getting angry.

"I think you should get it checked." Reid piped in. He was quiet all the while. He was angry with hotch for sending her alone. Morgan or Hotch should have gone with her.

"Yeah I will. Anyway, what did you guys find out?" Prentiss asked, deflecting the attention away from herself.

"Oh, the carvings were made post mortem. I think it has something to do with foster children making a list of various homes they may have gone to." Reid said, pondering on this thought.

"That is an interesting thought boy genius. Let's go with that. Why would he carve the victim's own names? And they are not all foster parents. Two of them were kids also." Prentiss said.

"It can only mean that our unsub was a foster child. But how old is he? And what is the stressor?" Rossi mused. The door opened and hotch and Morgan walked through.

"Prentiss! What the hell happened? You told me it was a bruise!" Hotch said, showing rare emotion.

"It's nothing sir. Reid and Rossi found some interesting information. We may have a theory." Prentiss replies, taking the heat off her. Hotch was distracted and looked at Reid who launched into a long explanation.

Emily slowly looked up at Derek to see him clenching his teeth. He motioned for her to join him outside. She looked back at Hotch and saw he was busy and she followed Derek outside.

"Tell me by what stretch of the imagination is this a _bruise_?" Derek asked her, not bothering to hide is anger, fuelled by concern.

"Derek. Calm down. And don't yell at me. This, it's okay. I've gone through worse." Emily said, defending herself.

The image of her after Colorado flashed in his head and he winced.

"Em, I was so worried. Hotch wouldn't let me leave and I couldn't defy him openly. Baby. It hurts me when you get hurt." Derek said, cupping her hurt cheek lightly.

"He knocked my molar out! That idiot knocked it out! I don't have a tooth!" Emily said, with a tortured expression on her face.

"Aw, we'll go to the dentist as soon as possible okay? Come here." Derek said and pulled her into a hug. They broke apart and went back inside. Emily went to the loo while Derek went inside.

******

The entire precinct had gathered for the profile. Kenny looked at them expectantly. JJ stood at the side to make notes for another press conference. The reporters were already outside.

"This is a man who was in the foster system. He was a foster child and things may not have worked out for him." Reid started.

"He is very angry with the system and the people who use the system. He has some connection to Brian Green, the child of the first victim. Green is violent and has a lot of pent up rage, but we don't believe he is the unsub." Prentiss added.

"This man is armed, strong and dangerous. He feels no remorse as his hate is fuelled by anger. He will break sometime and that will be very bad." Morgan said, looking at Rossi to take over.

"When he breaks, his killing spree will go out of control. It is very important that we catch him soon." Rossi said.

"I suggest that we start with that Green kid's friends and trace him." Kenny said, looking at Hotch for approval who nodded.

The police troop split up. This time, Hotch, Rossi and Reid went to DCF to look at more files while Morgan and Prentiss went to question Mary some more.

******

It was late when Emily made it back to her room. JJ had taken her to the dentist after the press conference. He had treated the wound and given her an anti-inflammatory injection which reduced the swelling dramatically. She walked over, stripped to her underwear, pulled on a t-shirt and removed her bra and sunk onto the bed. She was just about to sleep when she heard a knock. She knew who it was so she called out "Come in." and lay still when the tall figure of Derek Morgan entered her room.

"Hey!" he said, removing his shoes and lying down next to her.

"Hi! My face isn't a watermelon anymore." Emily said. She made another lame joke, but this time it was because she was nervous.

"That's a good thing." Derek said, kissing her face softly. "I almost lost it in front of Hotch today, when he didn't let me come see you." He confessed.

"Oh boy. This is going to be complicated isn't it?" She said, arching her neck to give Derek better access.

"uh-huh" Derek said, kissing her neck, moving lower.

"Good thing I like complicated." Emily said, grinning at Derek.

He slid his hands under her shirt, up her smooth back, his eyes going wide when he didn't encounter a bra. He looked at Emily and brought his hands front to skim the underside of her breasts. She arched, and slid a little lower, so that he was cupping her breasts.

He leaned in and kissed her gently while he kneaded her breasts with his hands. She moaned into his mouth and they knew they need to make the decision. Do they take the next step or not.

**A/N – So I need you guys to tell me if they should take the next step or not. I'm still very excited that Paget is on twitter!! LOVE LOVE LOVE her! She is so fun!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer – Nothing's changed. Don't own anything.**

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys! Makes me happy! CriminalMindsAddict - I'm writing as fast as I can! Have a 12 hour job!! :P Thanks for your enthusiasm though! Thanks gemus for reviewing! **

**This chapter is really pushing the rating T. So please read with discretion. Thanks!**

Emily looked into Derek's eyes. This was going too fast, faster than any relationship she had ever been in. She didn't even know if they were in a relationship. She hadn't even gone on a date with Derek. She took a deep breath and thought what the hell and took the plunge. She wrapped her arms around his neck and ignored the pain shoot through her as she kissed him harder. She lifted her hip and ground it against his.

"Emily. Are you sure? We can stop and just sleep." Derek said, breaking away from the kiss and he looked at her, gauging her reaction.

"I doubt either of us will sleep tonight. Derek, it's been a long while coming." Emily said, her voice calm and strong. She was sure about what she wanted.

Derek pulled his hands out from under her shirt and pulled it over her head. He helped her unbutton his shirt and he removed his pants. They were in only their underwear. He leaned down and kissed the tip of her breast and she arched her back and moaned.

She ran her hands down his muscular back and pushed his boxers down. She gasped when she saw him stand up to kick his boxers off and he knelt over her to kiss her softly.

*****

Emily woke up next morning and stretched. She immediately gasped from the soreness.

"Oh ow! Derek?" She called out softly after finding the left side of the bed empty. She sat up went to the loo to take a shower and get changed. When she came out of the shower, she felt a little better but oh boy she was sore. She smiled as she remembered the explosive sex. She had never done things like what she did last night. Derek was a first for her in many, many ways. She looked at the mirror to see that she was red. She smiled and she craned her neck in every direction to see if she had any hickeys. Luckily she didn't. She definitely had to rule out swimming for a couple of weeks because the bruises on her thighs were a sure give away. She grinned again and walked out of her room.

She saw Derek closing the door to his room and walked up to him. She slapped his behind playfully and grinned at him when he turned around.

"Hello beautiful. Did you sleep well?" Derek asked Emily who was looking very pretty that morning. She had a faint tinge of red on her cheeks which made her look cute, a word he never would have used to describe her.

"I did. I missed you this morning though." Emily said, walking down with him. It warmed his heart to hear her say that. She wasn't the most vocal of people.

"I had to leave baby. I didn't want anyone catching me in the corridor as I went out of your room!" Deerk said, rubbing her back.

"I know. I was just saying. You left me quite sore though. I'll have to hit the gym from now on!" Emily said, smiling slightly as she looked at him.

"Really? I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it. Are you okay? You can stay back. I'm sure Hotch wouldn't mind." Derek said, concern dripping from his voice. It was tinged with guilt also.

"Oh boy. We need to do something about your must-blame-myself syndrome. It's a good sore. I'll get you back for it though." Emily said as they walked into the breakfast room.

"Hey Emily." Reid said as he joined her at the cereal table. He watched her as she loaded her bowl with Cinnamon Toast Crunch and inhaled deeply.

"Hi Reid. Good morning. Have you ever smelt this? Isn't it amazing?" Emily asked the young doctor.

"Uh. I don't know. How are you feeling? Should I try some of that also?" Reid asked Emily.

"I'm perfectly fine. And yeah. Get some. It's the best cereal in the world." She said, nodding.

Reid filled his bowl also and followed her to a table where JJ and Morgan were sitting. Rossi joined them with Hotch.

"Prentiss. How are you feeling? Will you be able to work today?" Hotch asked. He felt guilty for not rushing back to the station. Morgan was after all her friend and he just wanted to make sure she was alright.

"I'm fine, sir. I just want to catch the miserable son-of-a-bitch… I apologise for my language." Emily said, as an afterthought.

As the team sat around the table, Reid was muttering to himself.

"Hey boy genius? You want to talk a little louder?" Morgan asked Reid.

"Huh? I was actually debating a theory with myself." Reid answered.

"Ok. What is it? Maybe we can debate it with you?" Morgan asked Reid, amused at the younger man.

"Well, the unsub attacks both foster parents and children. What if he was a foster child and now a foster parent himself?" Reid proposed to the table.

"You really are a boy genius aren't you?" Prentiss said, patting Reid on the back as Hotch dialed.

"_Hello sugarpuss! What can the queen of your world do for you?_" came the voice from the phone.

"Garcia, I'd like you to look at all foster children who later became foster parents in the tri-state area." Hotch said while Morgan snickered. Hotch was using Morgan's phone.

"_Yes sir. Immediately. I'm so sorry about the.." _Garcia said before being cut off by Hotch.

"It's alright. Now the list." Hotch said, almost smiling.

"_Yes sir. I'm on it."_ Garcia said and hung up.

******

The whole team was at DCF going through records of the people that were on Garcia's list. They had five possible suspects. They were tired. There was a knock on the door and Kenny walked in. he looked grim.

"Chief Kenny?" Hotch asked.

"Brian Green was found dead in his backyard by the neighbours. His name was carved on his forehead. He is our eighth victim." Kenny said, and slammed his hand on the table.

"Brian. He knew something guys. He ran from me. He knew something was going to happen. Have we tried connecting him to our suspects?" Prentiss asked.

Morgan called Garcia and put it on speaker.

"_Garcia." _Came the sober greeting.

"Hey baby girl. Can you see if you can connect Brian G-r-e-e-n to Arthur Gerard, Kevin Menton, Ryan Abe, Dylan Ben and Yolan Tauro?" Morgan asked.

"_Hold please…. Well well well, Brian is registered as Kevin Menton's foster child, but was removed after complaints of abuse." _Garcia said.

"Can you connect the other victims to Kevin Menton?" Hotch enquired.

"_Sure. All the children were assigned to him before removed. The other foster parents were granted custody of the children who were removed from him."_ Garcia said, her tone pleased.

"Looks like we got our unsub" Morgan said gleefully.

**A/N – This a smaller chapter but I'll update sooon. Hope you guys like it!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer – Don't own anything. If I did, Morgan and Prentiss would have gotten together already!**

**A/N – Sorry for the delay!!! My Brazilian friend was visiting me and I was seriously busy at work! Anyway here it is!**

"Garcia, do you have an address for Menton?" Hotch asked her.

"_I've sent it to your phones._" Garcia replied. Hotch thanked her and hung up.

The team got up, with Prentiss scarfing down her cereal. She never wasted Cinnamon Toast crunch. She saw Reid doing the same and grinned! She loved it when she introduced other people to the cereal and they got hooked.

"You really like your cereal don't you?" Morgan asked a choking Prentiss.

"This one, yeah. Maybe cocoa puffs. The rest I don't care!" Prentiss said, wiping her mouth and grinning back at JJ who was discovering new sides to her new friend.

Prentiss went ahead and caught up with JJ and the two women walked together. Morgan looked at them and smiled, glad that Prentiss got along with the others from the team.

"I don't think I've seen Prentiss talk to anyone else on the team. It's usually you. And sometimes me." Reid said, catching up to Morgan.

"You have a milk mustache." Morgan said, laughing out loud. He was happy.

The team assembled at the police station, put on their vests, checked their weapons and they headed to Menton's house, accompanied with two squad cars. They made a soft entry and checked all the rooms. The house was empty. They checked the basement and the garage which were empty. They found pictures of Menton with the kids, but no weapon, no real evidence to say he was the killer.

The team stepped out to let the Crime Scene guys check the place out.

"I cannot believe he's getting away!" Prentiss said, clearly frustrated. It was dragging on too much, 8 people were dead and he was slipping away! He was on the run and it was that much harder to track him.

"I know. We'll get him." Morgan said and then bit his tongue when Hotch looked at him funnily.

"Let's regroup at the station. Morgan, I would like to have a word with you when you get there." Hotch said, looking at Prentiss.

Prentiss just looked down and then looked at Reid, and asked him if he noticed anything else. She ignored Hotch and Morgan and she knew Hotch was looking at her. She and Reid walked away from the group to talk the case out. They enjoyed working together and usually did their best work when they talked to each other.

"What's it about Hotch?" Morgan asked, though he had a very good idea. He couldn't believer he had slipped up so early. He was grateful that Prentiss had ignored them.

"I'd rather not discuss it here." Hotch said and climbed into the waiting SUV. Rossi called after Reid and Prentiss and climbed in the front, while Morgan got in the back.

Reid looked at Prentiss who looked like what he he expected her to look like if she panicked. They walked a while in silence and ignored Rossi's call.

"Everything alright?" Reid asked Prentiss.

"Derek, Morgan, and I slept together!" Prentiss said, looking at Reid for his reaction.

"Um… That is bad." Reid said, turning a little red at the possibility of discussing his friend's love life.

"I know!!! And Hotch is going to question Morgan! I have no clue what to do." Prentiss said, letting it out.

"Are you two, uh, dating?" Reid asked.

"No. Well, not yet. I don't know if we'll ever date. See, this is why I stay away from men. They really screw with your head!" Prentiss said, exasperated and slightly panicked.

"Maybe you should talk to Garcia. She'll be of more help." Reid said, trying to extricate himself from this conversation.

"Lord no. She'll start thinking up baby names if I tell her." Prentiss said. She looked at Reid, who was clearly uncomfortable with the conversation. Since she had gotten it out, told someone, she breathed deeply and said "So, Kevin Menton. Where would he go? He has to have a safe place."

"It will be in Basking Ridge. Maybe close to DCF?" Reid speculated.

"Why DCF? He hates the place, unless, he is masochistic. Mentally. Then he would welcome the pain, the reminders." Prentiss said, liking Reid's theory.

"It would serve as a stable connection. Help him keep his focus on the mission as it were." Reid said, getting into the theory.

"I agree. Let's go. And Reid? What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas right?"Prentiss asked Reid, though she trusted him implicitly.

"Um, if you're addressing the fact that everything you've shared remains between us, then yes. Though we're not in Vegas." Reid said, frowning.

Prentiss put her arm around him and gave him a quick squeeze. They walked back to the second SUV and drove to the police station. Hopefully, Hotch would have talked to Morgan by the time they got there. She let Reid drive, which was a rare thing as he drove slower than she could walk.

Morgan looked around for Prentiss before he went into the room where Hotch was waiting. Hotch gestured to him to take a seat and looked at him.

"Morgan, you know fraternising within the team is wrong and not allowed right?" Hotch said.

"Yes." Morgan said, determined to keep his answers short and not give anything away accidently.

"Are you dating Prentiss?" Hotch asked Morgan directly.

"No sir." Morgan replied, honestly. They weren't dating. He hoped to date her when they were back home though.

"Alright then. But whatever you have with Prentiss, end it. You are becoming involved and it's compromising your work." Hotch said, in a tone that broke no argument. Morgan just nodded, knowing it wouldn't get him anywhere if he argued.

They headed out just as Reid and Prentiss walked in.

"Where have you been?" Hotch asked, irritated now.

"I'm sorry sir. We were discussing something and I think we may know where Menton is." Prentiss said.

"What's your theory?" Hotch asked, as JJ and Rossi came by.

"Well, the UnSub, Menton, will have a safe spot. Prentiss and I think it's near DCF. He would want a reminder, to complete his mission." Reid said, wanting to take the heat off his friends.

" That is a good theory. Morgan, call Garcia and have her look into properties around DCF that may be connected to Menton." Hotch said and walked over to Kenny's office to share the theory.

"What happened with Hotch?" Prentiss asked Morgan after Hotch left.

"Not now. But everything's fine." Morgan told her and went to catch up with Rossi. Prentiss looked at Reid who smiled to show support.

They had found Menton hiding in a shack about 2 miles from DCF and had gotten evidence that he had killed the 8 victims. The team was spending the night in NJ before flying out in the morning. Emily waited in her room for Derek to show. She sat on the bed and was drinking a glass of wine that she had bought earlier. There was a knock on her room and Derek let himself in.

"Hey." He said and walked up to her. Emily stood up and they kissed.

"Hi. What did Hotch say?" Emily asked, a little breathless as Derek kissed her neck.

"He asked if we were dating, I said no because we aren't dating yet. I want to change that once we're back home. You think you'll be okay with that?" Derek asked, straightening to see her face.

"Yeah. I'd be okay with that. But we have to be more careful. I told Reid." Emily said, biting her lower lip.

"You told Reid??? Why would you do that?" Derek asked her, a little shocked.

"I needed to get it out Derek! And he is my friend. We tell each other things." Emily said, defending her decision.

"What kind of things?" Derek asked her, pouring himself a glass of wine.

"Well, things he tells me, that I keep a secret. He is my friend." Emily said, repeating to stress that fact.

"Okay. He is your friend. As long as I don't have to share all of you, you can have how many ever friends." Derek told her. He put his glass on the table, took her glass and kept it aside and picked her up. She wrapped her legs around him and started to unbutton his shirt. He felt her hair tickle his shoulder and lay her slowly on the bed and climbed over her.

"Did I ever tell you that your bangs are sexy?" Derek said, combing his fingers through her hair.

"Really?" Emily asked, surprised.

"Oh yes! It makes your eyes smolder. Like now." Derek said, unbuttoning her shirt. She had already gotten rid of her pants.

"Smolder? I never thought I would hear that word from you. May I record it?" Emily asked, laughing and gasping when she felt his mouth on her breast.

"Later. I have some very important work to do right now." Derek said, and continued to pleasure her.

**A/N – If you guys wonder why I alternate between Prentiss and Morgan and Emily and Derek, it's cause it is Emily and Derek when they are in private, but Morgan and Prentiss in public. Plus I love Paget's fringe, so I wanted to add it in here! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. The folks over at Criminal Minds said no when I asked if I could own Emily and Derek. Even in my dream!**

**A/N: Updating this fic after a LONG while. Having a not so good day at work, so need some Emily and Derek to cheer me up!**

In the jet, Prentiss sat with JJ and Reid, while Morgan sat behind them, reading a book. Every now and then, he would find her looking at him, especially when JJ and Reid were looking at their cards. He decided that he wanted to have some fun so the next time she looked at him he mimed a kiss and she immediately lowered her gaze. She worked hard on containing the laughter and composing her face before Reid or JJ could get suspicious.

After a few minutes, Prentiss looked up at Morgan again and he mimed kissing and he hugged himself this time. Prentiss gasped audibly and turned beet red and Morgan literally shoved a fist in his mouth to control his laughter.

JJ and Reid looked up when they heard Prentiss gasp. She was red in the face, but it also looked like she was working to control her laughter. JJ gave her a strange look and looked back at her cards. Prentiss looked at Reid guiltily and then burst out laughing. She laughed till she had tears in her eyes and Reid was smiling because he knew it was something that Morgan would have done behind their backs. Hotch looked up to see Prentiss and Reid laughing and JJ looking puzzled. He sighed because he had been woken up from his sleep. Prentiss looked back at him and mouthed "sorry" and he put up a hand to let her know that it didn't matter. He settled back into his chair and looked at Rossi who had the strangest expression on his face.

"Anything wrong?" He asked Rossi in a hushed tone so that only Rossi would hear.

"No. Something's right actually." Rossi said and turned to look out the window with a smile on his face. He was pretty sure something was going on between Reid and Prentiss. He would have never guessed, but the more he thought about it, the more he felt it was right.

The jet landed and the team made their way back to the headquarters. They needed to finish up the paperwork before going home. The team sat in the bullpen and filed the reports, while cracking jokes and generally having a good time. JJ came by and made Prentiss scooch and filled out her reports on his desk. She didn't want to miss out and she got Morgan to ping Garcia to get there too. Rossi came by to tell Reid that he wouldn't be able to drop him as something had come up and ask if maybe Prentiss would be able to. Reid looked at Prentiss who nodded. She smiled at Reid and Rossi smiled quite smugly. What he didn't realise that Prentiss and Morgan had plans for the evening which would have to be reworked.

Garcia looked at Rossi's smug face and told him that she wanted to visit Kevin so she'd come with him in the elevator. The minute she said that, Rossi knew she was onto something. Eager to have someone plot with him he nodded and the two of them made their way to the elevator.

"Anything funny about that picture?" Morgan asked, when the two of them were out of earshot.

"What?" Reid asked, looking up from his paperwork. JJ smiled and said "Should there be something funny?"

"Well, Garcia hasn't really interacted with Rossi. She wouldn't usually go anywhere with him voluntarily." Morgan said, looking around for confirmation.

"Something's definitely up." Prentiss said. She had finished her reports and she went and sat on Reid's desk to give JJ more space on her desk.

Reid was about to say something when he felt Prentiss's hand press into his shoulder. Garcia was back, looking quite happy. She looked at Reid and Prentiss and mentally kicked herself for not seeing this before. She had always figured that Prentiss was sweet on Morgan. She was usually never wrong, but watching the two of them together, Rossi was obviously right. She was glad that neither of them was hiding it.

"Come on Reid-o. Finish it already. I want to go home. Maybe have a hot bath with candles and wine. Does that sound good to you? It sounds good to me!" Prentiss said, unaware that two sets of eyes were going wide for two very different reasons.

Morgan was so aroused at just the thought of Prentiss naked in a bath that he was grateful he was sitting behind a desk. Garcia couldn't believe that Prentiss was flirting so openly with Reid and Reid was red in the face! It took everything that she had to not jump up and down and squeal in delight. She was ecstatic! She didn't know how to break it to Morgan, because she knew he had a crush on her. She sighed.

"Something wrong Garcia?" Prentiss asked, packing Reid's things for him, while he finished up the reports. She wanted to drop Reid off as soon and possible and go home and wait for Morgan. She hoped he had taken the hint when she told Reid her evening's plans. She wanted a hot bath with candles, wine and a hot man. She had just left that out. She knew Garcia was excited about something, but she knew that she wasn't onto her and Morgan.

"No. Nothing." Garcia said, offering Prentiss and Reid, who was done now, a sickly sweet smile. It scared the both of them.

"Okay, we're out of here. JJ, no offense, but I hope it's at least a week before you call me!" Prentiss said, grabbing her bag as she made her way out.

"Haha! I thought you wanted to come over." JJ said, laughing.

"Oh yeah! Um, well that is the only time you get to call me. That good?" Prentiss said, correcting herself.

"Oh nice. You and JJ plan this elaborate thing and leave me out. I see. That is how things are going down here." Garcia said, mock upset.

"Garcia, you know you're invited! You know you're always invited! Maybe we can have a sleepover!" JJ said, getting excited at the possibility of a girls' night.

Garcia looked at Prentiss and Reid, saw that Prentiss was mildly disappointed and said "Maybe next week? Kevin and I kinda have plans that may take the whole night."

"Yeah sure. But you both have to come over this week for a while." JJ said.

"Definitely. Now I really am going to leave. Bye guys." Prentiss said, and the two of them left.

Once both Prentiss and Reid were out of earshot, Garcia squealed. She jumped up and down and clapped her hands. She was so excited.

"Wow, a little enthusiastic for the weekend are we?" JJ asked, amused. Morgan looked at his best friend stunned. What was she squealing about? And what had she and Rossi discussed?

"No, no.. I have such great news. Trust me JJ, when you find out, you'll squeal too." Garcia said, with barely contained glee.

"What's going on? Garcia! Tell me!" JJ said, starting to feel enthusiastic. The tech's enthusiasm was contagious. Morgan was a little scared.

"Emily is seeing Reid!" Garcia said, with a mile-wide grin.

"What?" Both JJ and Morgan said at the same time.

Garcia told them everything that Rossi had said and added her own interpretations. JJ added that Prentiss had stayed back with Reid when the rest of them had gone back to the police station in New Jersey. She also said that Prentiss had let Reid drive, something that nobody did.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! This is perfect!"Garcia squealed again.

Morgan was shocked. He didn't know how to react. Part of him wanted to shut up and let it be, because this meant that no one suspected him and Prentiss, while another part of him wanted to rant and scream saying that he was the one dating her and not Reid!

**A/N – How should Derek react to this? Should he come clean or shut up and we can have fun with this? **


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer – I own nothing. If I did, let's just say things would have been a whole lot different.**

**A/N – back from my vice! Sorry it's taking FOREVER to upload. Thanks for reading and sticking to the story. I did something super fantabulous on my vacation. I hung out with Paget Brewster for like 20 minutes in LA! I still cannot get over that! But yeah, if you want to read about it, go to romyskyesworld (.) blogspot (.) com I can't post the link here because will take it away! Oh well. Here's the next chapter!**

Prentiss dropped Reid off at his place and bade him goodbye.

"Should I say have fun with Morgan?" Reid asked, teasing Prentiss, which was uncharacteristic for him, but he was very comfortable with her.

"That would be the correct phrase, yes. And thanks! I'll see you later!" Prentiss waved from her car laughing and sped off in the direction of her condo. When she got there, Derek was already there

"Hey! You got here fast! We're in law enforcement. Not allowed to speed!" Emily said, approaching him. She leaned up for a quick peck outside her door and proceeded to fish about for keys in her bag. She looked up at Derek when he was quiet. "What?" she asked, pausing before she turned the key in the lock.

"Nothing. Let's go inside." Derek said, smirking.

Emily opened the door and they went inside. They went in and dumped their bags on the floor. Derek picked up Emily and gave her a long, sweet kiss and then hugged her close before bursting out laughing.

"What? I don't even know how to react to that!" Emily said, pushing Derek away from her. She was annoyed and confused and trying to not laugh at the same time, because his laughter was very contagious.

"Sorry. Gimme a minute." Derek said, coughing and choking as he spoke through his laughter. "Oh shit. This is funny." He said, his laughter finally dying down. "Okay. So, Rossi came up with the theory that you and Reid are seeing each other and told Garcia. Garcia in turn told JJ and me, completely excited and thoroughly convinced." Derek said, taking Emily to the couch to sit next to him.

"Oh God! Where did they get something like that? This is funny! What do you want to do though?" Emily asked, sitting on his lap.

"Well, a part of me wants to play with them and another part wants to tell them that it's me you're seeing and not Reid!" Derek said and nuzzled her neck.

"I think we should play with this. We will have to come clean though, but we'll have to come clean at some point of time, so might as well be now right?" Emily asked, arching her neck to give him better access.

"I must say I agree. Now how about that bath?" Derek asked, pushing her a little, to indicate that he wanted to get up now. Emily obliged and told him to get the wine and glasses while she ran the water for the bath. "I want candles!" Derek shouted and Emily cracked up. Who knew Derek Morgan was a candles man.

The couple met Garcia and JJ at a local pub for drinks the next evening. Emily went to pick Reid up and fill him in on the plan. It would also look like she arrived with him, making the excuse that she picked him up. Derek headed straight to the pub from his place.

Derek, Garcia and JJ were already halfway through their beers when Emily and Reid made their appearance. They went up and took their seats next to each other.

"Hey guys! Sorry we're late." Emily said, before taking a sip out of Derek's mug.

"Oh that's perfectly okay. Let's get you some beers also, shall we?" JJ said, not being able to keep the smile off her face.

Reid texted someone and Emily's phone went off.

**They really think we're dating don't they? This should be fun!**

Garcia didn't miss this and when Emily read the text and nodded, Garcia was this close to squealing "Got you!", but she and JJ had agreed to give the couple a few more days of peace before descending on them.

"So what were you guys up to all day?" Garcia asked, directing her question to Emily.

"Oh I just lounged about, had a lazy morning, ate food, napped and here I am." Emily said, with a content smile on her face, as she leaned back in her chair.

"I actually went to an afternoon lecture of the similarities of the matrix trilogy and the Hindu sacred book, the Bhagavad Gita." Reid said, unknowingly giving JJ and Garcia more to squeal about. It could only mean that he and Emily were together all morning and he went to the lecture while Emily was napping.

"That's interesting Reid." JJ said, to be polite and to make her focus on not getting excited.

"It was very interesting. The Wachowski brothers are actually Hindu converts and the similarities are glaringly obvious. Emily, you would have liked it, because you are familiar with the Hindu religion and culture." Reid said, playing into their hands even more. Derek actually choked as he realised what was going on.

Emily looked at Reid, gave him a little smile and said "Next time then. I had a late night, so I really needed the sleep." This time it was Garcia who lost it and excused herself, soon after which, JJ followed.

"You guys are killing it! I came this close to bursting out in laughter!" Derek said, laughing openly now.

"We are? I didn't even realise!" Reid said, to which Emily gave him a hug. JJ and Garcia chose that moment to come back and see the rare display of affection. Garcia's jaw literally fell open and JJ gasped.

"Morgan's in on it?" JJ asked Garcia.

"I didn't think so! But he must have confronted them and they must have come clean! This is unbelievable!" Garcia said, clearly angry that her best friend had more scoop on the couple than she did! This could not be happening. She marched up, with JJ right behind her.

"Sorry about that. I don't know what came over me." Garcia said, in a very un-Garcia like way.

"That's okay. Another beer you guys? This one's on me." Emily asked. She downed the last of her beer while Reid took another sip of his still full mug.

"I'm in for that. How about I play you for the third round?" Derek asked Emily, after she signaled the waitress and asked for another round.

"Play what?" Emily asked, resisting the urge to grin wickedly.

"darts of course. Unless you had something else in mind." Derek asked, innocently. Emily wanted to smack him and she decided to give him a dose of his own medicine.

"I had something else in mind, but I don't think you'd have the stamina for it." She said, and turned towards Reid to tease him about his unfinished beer.

JJ and Garcia didn't catch any of the innuendos and were busy focusing on the Reid/Emily interaction that was going on, while Derek seethed at the implications of Emily's statement. He was now determined to finish this evening soon so that he could take her home and show her who was boss.

The rest of the evening passed by with no real events, other than JJ and Garcia trying to look for any signs for anything between Reid and Emily. Soon, it was time to leave. Reid and Emily left together and Derek looped around to get to Emily's condo. He didn't want to give the gossip twins any reason to change their focus. He was having too much fun with them. He arrived at Emily's condo, expecting her to be there by now. When she wasn't, he waited. After waiting for 20 minutes, he called her.

"Where the hell are you?" Emily's voice came over.

"Me? Where are you?" Derek asked.

"At your place! I thought it would be easier for me to meet you here after dropping Reid off. You would have to loop around to throw the girls off." Emily said, impatience clearly showing in her voice.

"We really need to work on our communication skills. Guess where I am?" Derek asked, snickering.

"Lordy! Did you actually loop around? Okay I'll come home. Hang on for another 20 minutes. Oh shit! Oh shit!" Emily all but shrieked, and some scuffling was heard.

'Em? Baby? Are you okay?" Derek said, urgently, not knowing what was happening at the other end.

"Shhhhhh. Garcia is here!" Emily said, panicked. "What do I do?" She hissed into the phone.

It took everything for Derek to not burst out laughing. "Hide?" he said, helpfully.

"Derek, you're such a little shit. I gotta go." Emily said and hung up.

**A/N – So, what do I do? Do I let Emily get away or Garcia to find her? Hope you like this chapter. It's just some fun. Read and review please! I love hearing from you guys!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer – I own nothing. As usual.**

**A/N: Thanks for sticking with this story you guys! And for the reviews!**

Emily ran down the hallway, hiding in a dark corner. She scrunched down to blend into the shadows, turned her phone off and controlled her breathing. She wasn't FBI for nothing. Garcia marched up to Derek's door and banged on it. "Derek! Open up! It's me." She shouted and waited. She knocked again after a while and when there was no response, she called him.

"Derek. Where are you?" Garcia said, tapping her foot.

"Lady friend? What is that? Code for hooker?" She asked, her eyes bulging at the implications. Emily barely stifled an angry gasp.

"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry I came to that conclusion. We need to talk. About Emily and Reid. To make a plan to oust them! It's going to be so much fun! It's been _ages_ since the last scandalous thing, and that was JJ and Will! They are a boring couple now!" Garcia said, pacing excitedly.

"Fine, lunch tomorrow. You, me, JJ and maybe Rossi." Garcia said, hanging up. She walked down the stairs in a huff and Emily came out of her hiding place. She stretched her legs. Tight jeans were not made to squat in. Suddenly she heard footsteps come up and ran back.

"Who's there?" Garcia's voice came from the stairs and the sound of fast footsteps came. Emily just managed to get back in the shadows, but didn't have the chance to sit. She almost whimpered and cursed Derek in the 19 languages she knew to curse in.

"I'm FBI! Show yourself!" Garcia said. She walked up close to where Emily was and peered into the shadows. Emily considered clambering off the balcony like thing onto the ledge and getting on the tree. Just as she was about to make a move, Garcia turned and walked back to Derek's door.

"And you say working in the BAU doesn't make you paranoid. Jeez Penny, get a grip on you. Crazy woman." Garcia said to herself, wrote a note and taped it to his door and got out of there.

Emily waited in the shadows till she heard Garcia get into the car and leave. Once she heard the car leave, she came out and turned her phone on. It immediately rang and she picked it up.

"Derek! Finally! A lady friend?" Emily asked, her irritation obvious in her voice.

"Babe, I'm so sorry. I just said that I was at a lady friend's place and couldn't talk. She made the wrong conclusions! I yelled at her for it though." Derek's voice sounding consoling.

"Fine. But let's get this straight, you will never, ever call me a lady friend. Never, never, never!" Emily said, stressing.

"I won't ever do that. Are you coming here or should I come there?" he asked. Emily was in her car already and told him that she would come there. They hung up and Emily drove back to her condo.

She ran up the stairs, to find Derek Morgan squatting, his back against the door. He looked up and smiled his charming smile. She looked at him, cocked her head and said 'That shirt really looks good. Is it your favourite?"

"You got that right baby! I'm so sor… EMILY!" He all but shrieked when he felt her palm smack into his shirt, and then felt something wet and cold seep and them smelt the smell of raw egg.

"Just because there should be justice in the world. These are _my_ favourite jeans. They ripped when I squatted, trying to hide from _your_ friend." Emily said, shaking the egg off her hand and opened her door. "Oh and you are not coming into my house, dripping egg on the floor. This is expensive wood flooring."

Derek shook his head. This was why he loved her. She could always give it back, and she was creative. He grinned at her retreating form, catching glimpses of bare skin. She was either going commando or was a fan of one of those thong things. He could never imagine how they would be comfortable. Like a permanent wedgie, he figured. He removed his top, grimacing as he got some egg on his head. He made a beeline for the bathroom and washed up.

Emily took off her jeans and looked at them unhappily. Maybe JJ would know someone who could fix it. She was still mad at Derek, but he did look incredibly hot when he stripped. She heard the shower running and debated. She then decided to join him and be mad at him later. She removed her top and went into the shower to give him a pleasant surprise.

Emily woke up to a buzzing noise. She groped under her pillow for her phone and when she couldn't find it, she groped under Derek's pillow and found it. She pressed the green button and said hello in a croaky voice and winced when she heard it.

"Uh, may I speak to Derek please?" came the voice from the other end.

Emily immediately shot out of bed and looked at the phone. It was a black blackberry and not a gray one. It belonged to the sleeping next to her. She covered the phone with her hand and shook him. Derek rolled and opened his eyes a crack.

"Baby come back to bed. There are other ways to wake me up." Derek said, squinting at his girlfriend. It didn't escape his notice that she wasn't really clothed. He then took in her panicked expression. "What's up?" he asked, sitting up.

Emily handed Derek the phone, not taking her hand off the speaker. "It's Garcia. I answered. She doesn't know it's me!" She whispered and took her hand off the phone, looking meaningfully at him.

"Hello?" Derek said, to confirm what Emily had said. He knew she was still mad at him about last night, and was sure she'd get him back for it.

"Derek! Who's the girl? She sounds so sexy!" Garcia's high pitched squeal came from the other end.

"Hey baby girl. You're excited in the morning. Um, you don't know her and obviously I can't sit here and talk to you while she's looking at me. But you're right, she is very sexy." He said, grinning at Emily, who blushed and smiled back.

"Okay! I want full details. We're on for lunch remember!" Garcia reminded him.

"Yes, I remember!" Derek said, winking at Emily. He couldn't wait for their lunch to discuss Emily and Reid. It would definitely be a laugh. He said bye and hung up. He reached over and pulled her onto the bed before rolling on top of her and making her laugh. She sobered up when Derek kissed her, as he showed her exactly how he'd like to be woken up in the mornings.

**A/N: I know this is short, but this was just some fun! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**A/N: I'm feeling blue. I want some Derek/Emily. Here it is!**

Derek made it back to his place, showered and left for the lunch to which he was already late. Emily was upset because she wanted to be there also, but he promised to fill her in on all the details. Once he got there, the mischievous mood filled the air and he decided to play along, and actually play tricks on Emily!

"Okay, so how do we do this? Where can we keep getting them together?" Garcia asked the table. The group had just gotten their lunch orders and had some time before the food came to the table. She was on a mission. JJ was taking down notes.

"Um, just push them together right?" Derek said, not quite sure about the amount of planning that went into one of these things.

"Derek, I love you, but shut up." Garcia said, and looked at JJ. "What are you thinking?"

"I think we should get the two of them together and Hotch. _All_ the time." JJ said, smirking.

"That is actually a very good idea." Rossi said, sipping his wine. "I also think that they should be left alone for a minute or two and then one of us jumps in on them!"

"That is also very do-able. What else? I can bug Emily's phone!" Garcia said. Before Derek could protest, JJ said "No. That would be an invasion of privacy."

"Yeah. I guess. So, stud muffin, you've been quiet. What are your ideas?" Garcia asked Derek.

"Uh, you told me to shut up. So I'm just listening." Derek said, wanting to make Garcia feel a little guilty. It worked.

"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I'm so sorry." Garcia said, worried that she may have really upset him.

"That's fine. I really have nothing to add. You guys have all got it covered." Derek said, immediately cancelling plans of having fun with Emily. Poor girl wouldn't know what hit her! He wanted to go home and tell her what everyone was planning, so that she could be on guard. What he didn't realise was that Reid and Emily were smarting from the team wanting to torture them, they decided to come up with some of their own torture. Especially for Derek, who had decided to go along with the team's plans quite enthusiastically. He had let slip what restaurant they were going to be at.

When Derek had left to go to his place to clean up and go for lunch, Emily had called Reid and together they had come up with a plan.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" Garcia hissed.

"What?" JJ asked, ducking when she saw Garcia duck. The boys ducked also, waiting to hear Garcia's explanation.

"Um, Emily and Reid at 2 o'clock! Shit! What are we gonna do?" Garcia hissed, still ducking.

Out of the corner of her eye, Emily saw the team duck. She smiled widely at Reid, telling him what was happening and telling him not to look. She looked like she was whispering something sweet and Reid was all too happy about it. They stood admiring a dress in the window, allowing Emily to look at the team reflected in the window next to them. The team had chosen a restaurant that was open air and in the middle of a shopping district. Reid pulled Emily in front of him and wrapped his arms around her waist. Emily giggled, because she knew what this would be doing to Derek. He would be fighting very hard within himself not to give himself away!

And Emily certainly knew her man. Derek felt like his head was going to explode when he saw Reid wrap his arm around Emily, his Emily. He should have known that she wouldn't keep quiet about this. He looked at JJ who was giddy with happiness.

"They look so cute! Oh my God! I think my heart is going to melt!" JJ said, squealing with Garcia. Even Rossi had a smile on his face as he saw them.

"Do you think they saw us?" Garcia asked, looking around the table.

"I don't think so, because if they did, they definitely wouldn't be so public with their affection." Rossi answered, as Derek gritted his teeth. She was his girlfriend, and he and Emily should be public with their affection.

Emily almost laughed out loud when she saw Derek glower at JJ like he was going to kill her. She was dying to eavesdrop, but settled with reading expressions. She looked at Reid.

"Hey, you wanna torture them more?" Emily asked, whispering into his ear, tickling him, causing him to laugh. It immediately looked like she was whispering something naughty. Derek tensed and came very close to blowing their cover.

She slipped her hand in Reid's and wandered over to the restaurant, leaning into him and then kissing his cheek as they waited for their table. Reid blushed, because he knew Derek was watching.

Derek had just about had it and he completely lost it when he saw Emily kiss Reid on the cheek. He got up and walked over to them. He grabbed Emily by her arm and dragged her to the team. Garcia looked at them open mouthed.

"You dunder-heads. She is not dating Reid. She never was. She and I are dating. Emily and me. Emily and Derek. Not Emily and Reid." Derek said, and proceeded to kiss her. He first kissed her passionately, with all the pent up energy and then softened the kiss and it was extremely sweet. They broke apart panting and Emily looked at them grinning like a fool.

"What, only you guys can have fun? Reid and I thought we'd give you guys something to talk about, but I think I may have pushed it too far." She said, grinning at Garcia and JJ. She looked over at Reid who was standing awkwardly and dragged him to stand next to her. "He is my best friend and he was the only one who knew apart from Derek of course. Which is why you saw us together so much. I must say your profiling skills are quite off." She declared and asked the waitress if they could add two seats to the table. Reid relaxed after Derek told him that no harm was done and that they were cool. He wasn't sure how Derek would take it.

"Uh, when? What? How? Where?" Garcia asked, as soon as she could speak. JJ was still staring at them in shock.

"In Jersey." Derek answered. Grinning at the table. He slipped his fingers in hers and looked at her, remembering that night. She blushed and looked down, asking the waitress to bring her the house Merlot.

"I still cannot believe we were so wrong! Rossi! It's all your fault!" Garcia claimed, glaring at him.

JJ looked at Emily and then said "Honey, I hope you know we have a girls night planned very soon."

Emily looked slightly panicked and then smacked Derek when he laughed. The couple sobered up and looked at the table. "This stays away from Hotch. You guys get that right?" Derek said. The table agreed and then enjoyed the rest of the meal.

Emily opened the door to the bathroom and made an inarticulate noise, looking at Derek who was turning down the bed. He had said something, but she didn't hear it as she was brushing.

He looked up at his girlfriend to see her foaming around the mouth. He grinned. "Em, you may want to spit that out. It's not particularly attractive."

Emily smiled and went back to the bathroom. She cleaned up and came back out. "What were you saying before?" She walked up to him and stood next to him, smelling minty fresh.

"I was saying, that first…" Derek kissed her and lowered her onto the bed. "I don't ever want to see you kiss and cuddle with Reid! Ever!" He said and looked into her eyes to show her that he was actually serious.

"Baby, I was just kidding around. Of course it's not going to happen ever again. The only person I want to kiss is you!" Emily said, and showed him how much she actually wanted to kiss him. Tomorrow was going to be a strange day at work, with everyone knowing, but tonight was different. They were alone.

Derek seemed to think the same. "Tomorrow is going to weird isn't it? It's going to be like we're celebrities. Under the microscope!" He told her in-between kisses.

"Especially Garcia's! But let's not think about that now. Tonight is just us." Emily said and pulled his head towards her, humming in pleasure.

**A/N: So the team knows. Hotch will find out soon. What should his reaction be? Reviews would be appreciated as always! Thanks!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer – I own nothing!**

**A/N: Um, yeah. I'm still alive. Enjoy!**

Emily and Derek decided to show up to work separately. It would just give the gang too much ammunition if they came together. Emily arrived first, as usual, a little ahead of time. She was supposed to be at work at 8am, but she got there at 7:50am. The headed to her desk, dumped her stuff and went to the pantry to make herself some craptastic coffee. She grinned. Reid kept coming up with these words and she'd added them into her vocabulary and was using them in her everyday conversations. Even if it was with herself.

As she waited for the coffee to percolate, she drummed her fingers, lost in thought. She was thinking about the latest theory in evolution and she couldn't wait to discuss it with Reid. She started when she heard a voice at the doorway.

"Not interrupting some _happy_ thoughts am I?" JJ asked, smirking. She knew she would find Emily here and though she had told the team to give the couple their space, she couldn't resist taking a jab at her friend.

"Oh lordy! Unless evolution means happy, then no." Emily said, her hand in her heart trying to calm it down. She looked at JJ, expecting the jab, so she didn't react negatively to it. She was beginning to realize that this was what family did, this was how they teased each other and it was just another way of letting her know that they cared.

JJ smirked and took the container and poured herself a cup of coffee and handed it to Emily. She had known she'd find Emily there, as always, that morning.

"Hey, um, I have a case for you to look at. You specialise in stalkers right?" JJ asked, not knowing how Emily would react. Emily had kept this specialty of hers a secret, after what had happened to her when she was younger. As a victim of a stalker, she knew everything about stalkers, but didn't like the past dredged up.

"How… How did you know?" Emily asked JJ, setting her cup down. She willed herself not to panic and not to go ballistic on JJ, who had definitely probed into her past to get this information.

"I, um, I had to…" JJ started to say and Reid and Rossi walked into the tiny room. JJ was grateful for the disruption because she was pretty sure Emily was upset. Judging by the clenched teeth and the fake smile, very upset. JJ fled from the room while Reid looked at Emily strangely.

"Everything okay?" Reid asked Emily, who looked at him, worriedly and then her expression cleared. She was back, with her mask in place.

"Yeah, it's fine. Just this case JJ was talking to me about disturbed me a little." Emily said, sticking as close to the truth as possible. Reid wasn't very good at reading facial signals and would have probably blown the whole thing if she tried.

"Okay. If you want to go over it together, we can." Reid said, and was nudged into further silence by Rossi. Emily thanked him for his offer and went back to her desk.

Reid looked at Rossi in confusion. "What was that for? I didn't understand." He told Rossi.

"That was because she would mostly want to work with Morgan, if she was going to work with someone." Rossi said, chiding Reid gently for not thinking that.

"If you think that, you don't know Emily at all! She's not one of those people who ditches a friend just because she's dating someone." Reid said, defending his best friend and putting Rossi in his place. He picked up his mug of coffee and went back to his desk, just as Morgan came in.

"Hey Reid!" He said and walked over to Emily's desk and squeezed her shoulder to say hello. She looked up at him, smiled faintly and went back to typing furiously and making clicking noises at the screen in frustration. She had picked up this habit in the Middle East as a child.

Morgan looked at Reid and asked if he knew what was up with her. She had seemed fine when he talked to her that morning. Reid recounted what she had told him this morning and Morgan shrugged his shoulders. If she wanted to be in a pissy mood, he wasn't going to bother her. He knew by now to just leave her alone and give her space when she was upset. She usually sorted it out herself and then would tell him about it.

JJ came out and told them that there were no urgent cases, but to look at the cases assigned to them and finish up their paperwork. Morgan groaned. He hated paperwork! Emily didn't even look up as JJ talked, but glared at JJ as she placed a case folder on her desk and walked away. Emily went back to working on the computer.

Derek walked up to his girlfriend's desk after a few hours and asked if she wanted to head out for lunch. She looked up in confusion.

"It's lunch time already?" She asked, surprised.

"Yeah it is! Everything okay? You wanna talk about it?" Derek offered.

"No. Let's just go for lunch. Let's go to the café down the street. I want their cucumber sandwiches. They are amazing!" She said, realizing exactly how hungry she was. She got up, grabbed her purse and headed out with Derek following her.

They went to the café where they talked and chatted. She told him about the evolution theory she wanted to tell Reid and though he didn't try to argue it out with her, he listened, because this was something she was interested in and he wanted to know all about her. He in turn told her about his latest housing project and what he was doing. Emily also listened intently because she wanted to learn. It was a topic that was completely new to her and she had no knowledge of remodeling or architecture at all.

They headed back to the office and her mood darkened. She bid him goodbye and headed to JJ's office. She knocked on the door and waited patiently for a response. When JJ said "enter" she went in and shut the door. She sat in front of JJ and looked at her with a blank expression, the mask she put on when she was trying to hide what she was truly feeling.

"So, how did you find out? And what do you know?" Emily asked JJ. "I won't work on the case until you tell me what's going on and who knows what and how." She sat back, patient, waiting to hear JJ's explanation.

"Look Emily, you're being childish. There are people's lives at stake here. Stop behaving like you're 10 and do your job." JJ said, getting defensive and at the same time, incredulous that Emily would behave like this! She expected more from her.

"Childish? You call being stalked to the point where I was a shivering mess hiding in a bathroom childish? You call me being angry because someone went snooping into my _personal history_, into my _personal affairs_ and you _not_ telling me who tipped you off childish? Really JJ. You need to buy another dictionary. Just give me the information I want." Emily said, icily. She was very close to exploding and she didn't want to scream at JJ, but JJ was pushing her. She didn't understand what a big deal this was to Emily.

"Ask your mother then." Was all JJ said.

Emily got up, strode out of her office and walked out of the building. She went to her car and burst into tears cursing her mother. She slammed the steering wheel in frustration and then wiped her eyes. She rested her forehead against it and attempted to collect herself.

Meanwhile, back at the office, JJ had come out of her office, wanting to talk to Hotch about Emily's behavior towards her, which she found unacceptable. Just as she came out, Erin Strauss and Hotch came out of his office and he looked at JJ with reproach. Strauss looked for Emily and upon not finding her, asked the bullpen "Where is Agent Prentiss?". Morgan looked concerned and Reid said that she had gone for a walk.

"When she gets back, let her know that I'd like to see her immediately please. Agent Jereau, your team may disagree with what you have done, but I commend you. The Bureau needs more honest agents like you." She said, with a parting glance at Hotch.

"JJ, I'd like to see you in my office. And guys, when Prentiss comes in, send her to my office. Do not tell her about Strauss." Hotch said, and walked into his office with a wide-eyed and scared JJ following.

"Hotch, what's happening?" JJ asked, sitting down.

"Did you give Prentiss a stalker case file? And did you put it into the system?" Hotch asked JJ.

"Yes. DC police called and gave me the case and asked for Prentiss on the case. When I asked why, they said that The Ambassador had told them to request Emily." JJ said, now truly scared.

"Prentiss was the victim of a stalker when she was younger. She had hidden this information from the Bureau, just like Morgan had hidden his past. Once it is known that Prentiss was a victim of some kind, her job here is in question. And Strauss is no fan of hers. Once you logged it into the system, Strauss was notified. She would wonder why the case was going to Prentiss and asked around. The DC police would have told her who had given them her name and why. Thus endangering her job here. I'm assuming she's upset?" Hotch asked JJ, who was shocked with what she had unknowingly done. She would never be able to make it up to Emily!

There was a knock at the door and Emily came inside.

"I'm assuming that Strauss knows?" She asked. She looked at Hotch, who nodded in confirmation. "I'd like to tell the rest of the team myself please, before heading up to meet Strauss." Emily asked, and when Hotch nodded again, she walked out into the bullpen.

She went and stood next to Derek and slipped her hand in his, taking strength from him. She sighed and told the team the gruesome story. Then explained what had happened, showing bitterness only towards her mother and Strauss and looking at JJ when she said her name and smiling slightly, to show her that she had no hard feelings towards the blonde.

Derek listened in shock when he heard what his girlfriend had been through and what she was about to go through. He looked horrified and stared at Hotch in shock. He pulled her out the door, just wanting some alone time with her. They both went out and turned the corner of the block that the headquarters was on. He stopped and pulled Emily towards him, hugging her tightly.

"Baby, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry about all this. I wish there was something I could do!" Derek murmured in her hair. Emily just looked up, her eyes bright and drew his head down for a kiss.

"You being here, you holding me is everything I need. You're giving me strength Derek. I need to be strong and I need to show Strauss that she cannot break me." Emily said. She kissed him again and hugged him tight, drawing comfort from the strong arms around her.

She drew back and the couple headed back to the office. Emily sighed and smiled at Derek before they went in. She could do this.

She knocked on Strauss's door and went inside.

**A/N: This is a little angst, cause I just am in an angsty mood right now. Hope you enjoy this! Thanks for reading and sticking with the story!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**A/N: I know some of you are wondering what exactly happened to Emily. Well, she explains it in this chapter.**

As Emily entered the room, she was a little surprised to see her mother there. She literally bit her tongue to stop herself from saying something stupid. This was out of her control and she could no longer predict what was going to happen. She looked at her mother, and deliberately turned away, not addressing her and looking at Strauss.

"Director? You said you wanted to see me?" She asked Strauss, sitting down when Strauss indicated for her to take a seat.

"Emily, there is something you should know." The Ambassador said, addressing her daughter who ignored her and continued to look expectantly at Strauss.

"Agent Prentiss, your mother has brought this case to our attention. It would have been better if she had just contacted the Bureau directly instead of going through the DC police, but anyhow, your past has now been laid out on the table. I will need you to tell me everything, in detail. Have you had a look at the case file?" Strauss asked Emily, who basically looked bewildered. This was growing stranger by the second.

"No Ma'am. I have not looked at the file. I was a little distressed by this and the lack of explanations and answers." Emily said, hinting that she was still waiting for answers.

"Alright, let us all adjourn to the conference room, where you will tell me and your team about your experience. Then Agent Jereau can brief the team about the case. The BAU will be taking on this case." Strauss said and stood up to leave. Emily and the Ambassador stood up also. Strauss headed out, while Emily's mother caught her arm.

"What mother? I have a case to solve, and it apparently involves me. Personally. I don't have time to chat." Emily said, with venom.

"Emily, this man, he's after you. I think it may be the same man." The Ambassador, letting the fear show on her face.

"What? Mother that is a bogus theory. He's on a whole other continent, in prison!" Emily said and she walked out, making her way to the conference room.

The whole team had gathered there, everyone was confused. They didn't know what was happening and were all hoping that this wasn't Emily saying goodbye. Emily walked in with the Ambassador after her and stood at the head of the table.

"Director Strauss has asked me to tell you what happened to me, as ominous as that sounds and that we're going to take this case." Emily said, looking at Hotch for confirmation and then at Derek for strength. She took a deep breath and continued. "This happened when I was 23. We were living in Europe and I was in a band. It was one of my rebellious things." She said, smiling at the memory and at the few snickers as they imagined uptight Emily in a band. "We performed in the local clubs and bars and we were pretty popular, performing twice or thrice a week. There was this guy who would come to every one of our gigs, and it took him a while to talk to me. He spoke fluent English and told me he liked my voice. That was our first direct interaction." Emily said, and was interrupted by Derek.

"Direct interaction? Was there any indirect interaction?" He asked and made some notes. The rest of the team was also making various notes, some about the case, some about Emily's body language.

"He would buy me drinks. The bartenders would tell me who it was from, but he didn't speak to me for a while." Emily said, looking at Rossi who had a question.

"What is a while? How long? How many gigs?" Rossi asked.

"Um, a couple months? I don't know how many gigs. Sorry." Emily said, and at Rossi's nod, she continued with her story. "After he realized that I didn't really bite, he would offer a kind word here and there and after about 6 gigs, he asked if I would like to go on a date with him." Emily said, and then was interrupted by Reid.

"6 gigs from the first direct interaction?" He asked, scribbling into his pad when Emily nodded.

"I politely declined, and he seemed to accept it. But he was back at the next gig and again he asked me out. I said no, this time a little firmer. This continued about another 5 times. It started to freak me out a little and I asked the various bartenders and bouncers not to let him in. They knew me and knew him because we performed at the same few clubs. They stopped letting him in and then I didn't hear from him for a couple of months. He had also stopped coming by." Emily said, taking a breath. This was where it got scary.

"One day, I was hanging out at the Embassy because my mother and I were supposed to go out for dinner. It was my 24th birthday. I was waiting for her to finish her meeting. Suddenly, I saw him. He was right next to me, grabbing my arm and I remember exactly what he said, like it was yesterday 'Miss me Emily? I love you. We're going out on a date. Now.' And he tried to drag me away. I stomped on his foot and screamed for all I was worth." Emily looked at Derek, drawing strength and comfort. She touched her gun for reassurance.

"I ran in the other direction, not knowing if he was following me or not and hid in one of the bathrooms. I stood on the commode, not wanting him to see which stall I was in if he found me. He came into the bathroom, calling my name tauntingly. I tried not to breathe, not wanting to make any noise, it was getting harder because he started opening each stall. I was in the middle, hoping he would check the stall at the end and go away. He opened the second stall and the doors burst open and the guards got him. I came out shaking and I almost broke down when I saw that he had a knife." Emily said, shuddering at the memory. Derek wanted to hold her badly, but he couldn't do anything in front of Strauss and Hotch.

Emily looked at the group of stressed faces and looked at the alarm on JJ's face. "And that's what happened. He was put away in prison." She concluded and looked at Strauss for further instructions.

"You may take a seat Agent Prentiss. Agent Jereau, would you tell the team about the case we have?" Strauss said, and Emily immediately went and sat next to Derek, who squeezed her hand under the table.

JJ stood up and walked to the screen. She looked at Emily with concern in her eyes and then looked at Hotch. She took a deep breath and told the team about the case.

"These three women are being stalked. The first started receiving pictures of themselves doing various things, going about their lives. Then, when they went to use public bathrooms, the stalker made himself known to them. He comes into the bathroom, finds them and threatens them with a knife and makes small incisions on their hands and then disappears. Then the whole cycle is repeated. All three women are in their early twenties, sing in a band and are brunettes." JJ said, giving Emily a significant look. Emily's breath hitched.

"We know that this case is connected to Emily, because the last time he cornered Linda Jenson in the bathroom, he spoke to her, calling her Emily and she said that he had a European accent." JJ said and stopped for comments from the team.

"What's being done about these women?" Derek asked, all the while gripping Emily's hand tightly under the table.

"They have been taken into protective custody and we're sending them into witness protection programs today." JJ said, and checked her watch. "In fact, they should be in the program now."

"So now the unsub is just going to come after Emily?" Derek said, incensed at the fact that they were literally throwing Emily out there.

"Derek! Calm down! He has to come after me. It's the only way to catch him. He wants me, I've dealt with him before and this time, I'm ready. I'm expecting it and I'm not some scared little 20 year old." Emily said, standing up. She looked around the room at the faces of her family. She looked at her mother, and for the first time, she didn't feel angry. This was her mother's twisted way of looking out for her.

"I think we should profile him, and bait him. When he goes for the bait, we'll get him!" Emily said.

"And you're the bait?" Rossi asked, uncertain of what was going to happen.

"Yeah." Emily said, and excused herself. She went to the bathroom and then went to the one opposite. If he was in town, looking for her, why make it easy. It was less likely that he would be in the FBI building, but she wasn't taking a chance. She nodded to two male agents who looked at her wide-eyed because she was in the men's bathroom. She washed her face and looked up when she saw Derek come in.

"Why make it easier for him right?" She said, her voice cracking and she hated herself in that moment. She didn't want to cry, be the weak pathetic victim.

Derek checked the stalls and went towards her.

"Don't." Emily said, holding out a hand. She looked at his hurt expression and then continued. "If I hug you, I will break down. And I don't want to. Not here. Will you come home tonight?" She asked.

He understood where she was coming from. It killed him to show weakness either and he was grateful that she was trusting him enough to want his company later, when she did break down. "Of course. I'll see you at the bullpen. You'll be okay Em. You've got me this time." He said and left her to gather herself.

She made sure she looked calm and composed before heading out. She said goodbye to her mother and promised to call every morning and evening. The rest of the day continued with paperwork and then the team decided to call it a day and head home. This time, with Emily's safety at stake, Derek couldn't care less about who saw what and he held her hand as they made it towards his car. They decided to leave her's at the office.

They made it to Emily's condo and he held her in bed while she cried, letting it all out.

**A/N: That is Emily's story. I will write a bit more about the case and then we'll go back to my happy place! Thanks for reading!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**A/N: I took a break, but now I'm back! LOL! Thanks for reading, reviewing and adding this story into your favourites and alerting it!**

Emily woke up the next morning and stretched. She was uncomfortable and it dawned on her that she was still wearing her work clothes and had fallen asleep on them. She saw Derek's hand thrown across her torso and noticed that he too was in work clothes. She looked at the clock that told her it was 3am. She stifled a groan and slowly disengaged herself from Derek and slipped out.

She first changed into a tshirt and shorts and went down to the kitchen. She made herself a bowl of cereal and milk, her favourite, which was Fruit Loops and sat on the couch. She switched on the TV and put it on mute, because she didn't want to disturb Derek. She was in the process of eating all the blue cereal, she heard a noise. She set the bowl of cereal down and was about to reach for her gun when Derek sleepily made his way to the living room.

"Hey princess!" He said and sat next to her. He had shed all his clothing except his boxers. He pulled her towards him and the couple snuggled. He dozed while she finished her cereal, one colour at a time. After she was done, she felt a little energized and the fact that Derek was only in his boxers didn't help. She turned, so she was leaning on him sideways. She kissed his chest and worked her way to his mouth. He kissed her and the kiss grew stronger as he woke up.

"Now? Are you sure?" Derek asked Emily, holding her a few inches away from him so that he could see her eyes.

"If I wasn't, I wouldn't have started. But I do think we should move it to the bed. The couch is awesome for make out sessions only." Emily said, smiling at him. She stood up and tugged him onto his feet and laughed when he picked her up and carried her to the bed. For the next few hours, they pretended that nothing was wrong.

They entered the office together the next morning, both looking tired, but happy. Emily was still a little stressed. She had called her mother on the way to work and had told her that Derek had picked her up. She went straight to her desk, dumped her bags on the floor and then headed straight to Hotch's office. She wanted to know if they or the police had made any progress.

She knocked on his door and went in when he told her to come in.

"Hey. Any updates?" Emily asked.

"Well, from Garcia, yes. Hold on, let me call her in here. Or would you be willing to wait a few minutes till the team is here and she can give the update to everyone?" Hotch asked, not being sarcastic. He understood the urgent need for information. After the reaper, he felt that he understood his team better.

"I can wait." Emily said and turned to go, before Hotch stopped her.

"Prentiss. Are you with Morgan?" Hotch asked her. It had been hard to ignore the constant looks they shared, the undercurrent of something more than friendship.

"Yes. Is that going to be a problem?" She asked him, prepared for a verbal battle with a hundred reasons as to why this was okay.

"It may be a problem later, but for now, as long as nothing affects your work and your concentration, especially now, I'm going to let it go. But the three of us will have a talk after this man is caught." Hotch said.

"Thank you." Emily said and left. She walked out to see Reid come in. He went to his desk and started his computer. It looked like Morgan was doing his email, but she knew that was a lie because he looked up at her and she knew he was waiting for her to get out of Hotch's office.

She walked to her desk and it was only then did Reid notice her.

"Emily, hi. Um, I've actually got a theory for you." Reid said, not seeing the way Morgan frowned disapprovingly. He wanted to talk to Hotch to keeping her off the case. He knew that Emily would have a fit if she discovered what was going on his mind, but he couldn't help but feel worried.

Emily walked over to Reid's desk and leaned against it. She and Reid always traded theories. She looked at the young doctor, who looked nervous for some reason.

"What's your theory?" She asked Reid. She was curious as to why he was feeling uncomfortable.

"Um, so the unsub attacks people, girls, who are in their early twenties. He may not go for you, if you're bait. He's still living in his past. He wants to relive it, except this time, really do what he had planned on doing with you Emily. I think the things he's done to these women, no doubt disturbing, is just a teaser. To let you know he's here, he knows where you are, but I also think that it would throw him off when he sees you, because you're old now. I mean, you are older than what you were." Reid corrected his faux pas when Emily raised her eyebrows at him.

"So you think I should confront him?" Emily asked, intrigued by this train of thought. Her go after him, instead of waiting for him to come after her.

"Well, with a lot, I mean a lot, of back up. Yeah." Reid said and swallowed when he saw Morgan advance towards his desk, with a thunderous expression on his face.

Emily saw the fear on Reid's face and turned around to face Morgan. She wanted to laugh because she was going to protect little Reid from the big, bad Morgan.

"Hey! You are not a part of this conversation, so go do your own work." Emily said, before Derek could say anything. As he advanced, she put her hand on his chest, pushing him a little.

"You want to do this, don't you? Confront the bastard? Morgan asked, giving Reid a dirty look. Reid turned around and began to try and focus on his computer. Or pretend to focus at least.

"Well, yeah! It beats waiting around and getting some other poor innocent girl stalked, hurt and threatened. Derek, stalking ruins a person's life1 They are forever paranoid. It took me forever to get over it and I got over it only because I joined the freaking BAU!" Emily said, turning Reid's chair around so that he was facing them. He looked like a guilty child when he saw Morgan, but Morgan couldn't be mad at him for putting the idea into Emily's head.

"I think we should talk to Hotch and Rossi." Emily said, getting up to call JJ and asking her to set up a meeting with the team, so that they could discuss Reid's theory and the possibilities. Morgan went after her, put a hand on her lower back and said "I hope you know I really hate this" after Emily hung up. She smiled and removed his hand, looking at Hotch's office pointedly.

The team assembled in the conference room where Reis explained his theory to JJ, Garcia, Hotch and Rossi. Rossi looked at him approvingly, Hotch looked stoic and JJ looked a little scared.

"Nuh-uh. No freaking way! You are not going to confront that weirdo! He's a sadistic stalker! He may even kill you Emily!" Garcia cried out. She was horrified by the suggestion and gave Reid dirty looks for coming up with it. Morgan grinned widely at her.

"I think it's a great idea! I refuse to keep looking over my shoulder and being paranoid while he runs around like a mad man. He wants me. And like Reid said, he is definitely living in the past. Maybe we can even recreate it for him!" Emily said, getting another idea in her head.

"What do you mean?" Rossi asked her.

"Well, we can twist my mother's annual fundraiser gala a little bit. She was wondering what she was going to do to raise the money, and we can have a date auction! Like where people bid on dates from certain people and I can be one of those people!" Emily said, really liking her idea.

"It would give him easy access to you and JJ could send out a press release saying that you'll be participating. And if we know where he's going to strike, it will be easier for us to control the situation." Rossi said, looking at JJ and Hotch.

It was taking everything from Derek to keep quiet. Emily had sent him a text a few minutes earlier saying that Hotch knew and that they should be very careful and not give him any reason to do anything.

"Morgan, what is your opinion on this?" Hotch asked, wanting his point of view.

"Honestly sir, I think this whole idea is balderdash!" Morgan said, looking upset.

"I think it's a great idea and since it's me, I feel that this is my decision. I really think this can work." Emily said, looking resolute.

"Find out if this is alright with your mother and we'll plan this. JJ, get the release ready. As soon as we get the okay from the Ambassador, I want this out in the press." Hotch said, essentially dismissing the team. Emily was ecstatic at the idea of catching her stalker once in for all. And being in control of the situation, instead of waiting in fear. She knew that Derek was very upset and hated what was happening, but he wasn't going to get his way this time.

She went to her desk and called her mother. After talking to her for about an hour and explaining everything, she agreed. So now, all there was to do was plan a party, put on a pretty dress and then catch the unsub.

Emily went to tell Hotch and then, she and JJ headed to her mother's house to plan the party in detail. She knew she was pretty much avoiding Derek, but she was already scared. She needed only support and positive thoughts around her right now. She texted him saying that she would see him tomorrow, covertly saying that she didn't want to see him that night.

While she was talking to her mother, her phone buzzed. When she checked her texts, there was one from Derek, that said "**No chance. I'm waiting outside. We're going home together!**"

She sighed and continued to party plan with her mother, with a small smile on her face.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer – I own nothing.

Derek watched as Emily reached behind to pull the zipper up. He had been quiet the whole time she was getting ready, just making sure that he was in her face, with a look of disapproval on his.

"Derek, if you're just going to stand there and sulk, you might as well help me with the zipper on this." Emily huffed. She was getting tired of the sulky routine and she needed him to snap out of it and be there for her. She was scared. All said and done, she was scared shitless and she didn't really want to hold Reid's hand for strength.

"Fine." He said and zipped the dress. He went back to sitting on her bed.

"Oh for God's sake. Derek. I'm scared. As much as I want to do this, I'm scared and you're not helping. You're my boyfriend for the love of God and I don't care if it kills you inside, you will hold my hand, tell me I can do this and be there for me if I can't. I cannot deal with you just sitting there, looking at me like that! Either you're in or you're out." Emily yelled. She had had it with him.

"Em, I'm scared too. I'm scared that that sick bastard is going to get you and I'm not going to be able to do anything. I hate that you're putting yourself out there like this. I hate that and I need you with me here. I need you to be safe." Derek said, crushing her to him. She meant so much to him, and now, he couldn't imagine anything bad happening to her.

"Just hold me. I'll be okay, but I need you to hold me." Emily said, her voice muffled because she was burying her head in his chest. She drew strength and comfort from the strong arms around her and the smell of him. She kissed his chest and she drew back. She smiled at him and he was taken aback by how gorgeous she looked.

She wore a mid-night blue strapless dress. It was clinched under her breasts with a silver belt of sorts and the dress fell just below her knees. It was simple, but she looked like a queen with her personality and the silver jewellery. He leaned in and kissed her.

"It's show time!" She said, with fake enthusiasm as they made their way to her car. When they arrived at her mother's house, she took a deep breath. He leaned in and kissed her again in the car and they headed into the house. She found Hotch and nodded at him. She then separated from Derek and went to find her mother to repot for duty. Derek made his way to where Hotch stood.

"How are you feeling?" Hotch asked the taller man. Derek looked at Hotch and said "Perfect."

Rossi came towards them.

"I saw Emily just now. She looks lovely. You're lucky. Make sure you hang on to her." The older man said, looking ahead in the direction that Emily had gone.

"I know I'm lucky and I value that. And I'm going to hang on for many more reasons than 'she's lovely'" Derek said, irritably.

"Touchy." Rossi remarked to Hotch.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap. This whole thing just has me on edge and I know I should be professional and I can ba. I'm sorry Rossi, Hotch. It won't happen again." Derek said, genuinely.

"You're allowed one slip up. This was it though." Hotch said, with a faint smile on his face.

About two hours later, the team and the police had taken their positions. The bidding was about to begin and they had decided that Emily go first, because they wanted to avoid causalities incase the unsub got impatient. The emcee called out Emily's name and she came forward on the stage. She walked up and down and she struck a pose.

The bidding started at a hundred dollars and went up to five thousand dollars in the space of a minute. Derek was shocked. He didn't think that this kind of money would be in play. Just as he was recovering, he heard the emcee say "Then thousand dollars! Do I hear eleven thousand?"

Rossi came up to him."Ah, people with money and a beautiful woman." And just to irk Derek, Rossi shouted "Eleven thousand here!"

Derek looked at the older man like he wanted to throttle him. He was about to say something when he saw Emily flinch. He looked at the next bidder who was bidding for fifteen thousand dollars. He was a man in his forties, definitely foreign looking and was making Emily uncomfortable.

"Rossi, that's our guy. Emily flinched when he bid." Derek said, and started to march towards him.

"No, wait. We cannot let him know that we are onto him." Rossi said and raised his had saying "Sixteen here!"

"Are you insane?" Derek asked furiously. Rossi was calmly bidding on a date with his girlfriend, while her psychopathic stalker sat mere feet away from them.

"Calm down. I texted Hotch with the seat number. We need to distract him." Rossi explained and shouted "Twenty!"

Just as Derek was about to say something, there was gunfire. Derek saw Emily fall on stage, while Rossi went after the undub. Derek leapt over everyone, shoving people out of the way to get to his girlfriend. His eyes were glazed with panic. He jumped up on the stage and gasped at the blood he saw, staining the side of her dress. He knelt down and lifted Emily's head.

"Hey! I'm okay. I think the bullet grazed my side. A bad graze and it's burning like hell, but nothing life threatening. Did they get him though?" Emily asked, her voice weak, focusing on controlling the pain, or at least her reaction to it. Derek turned around to see Hotch cuffing the guy.

"Yeah, they got him. Are you sure you're okay? You don't look too well." Derek asked, nodding at a cop who told him that the ambulance was on it's way.

"I'm fine. Just in pain." Emily said, through what sounded like gritted teeth.

Derek leaned in and lightly kissed her on the mouth, not caring who saw or who said what. He smiled at her and said "Well, as soon as you get all fixed up, you better prepare yourself to hear 'I told you so' about a million times." Derek said, laughing, his eyes bright with tears.

"Don't tell me you're crying! Derek Morgan, crying over a scrape? That is something I'm going to hold over your head for a very long time!" Emily said, wincing when he het her lie back down for the paramedics to load her onto a stretcher. She had lied when she said it was a graze. The bullet had gone through her side.

Derek looked at her unhappily and she said, with more strength in her voice "I'm fine! Ride with me though?"

Derek laughed and followed the paramedics and Emily. He stopped to tell Hotch what had happened and that he was going to ride in the ambulance with her. Hotch nodded and told him that he would see them at that hospital.


End file.
